Ethan Nwaneri was taken off at half time against Brighton on Saturday and has now been ruled out.
Still just 17 years old, Nwaneri scored a beauty for Arsenal early at Brighton on Saturday in their 1-1 draw.
But ahead of Arsenal’s League Cup semifinal against Newcastle on Tuesday, Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Nwaneri is set for a spell on the sidelines after just making consecutive Premier League starts for the first time in his young career.
Ethan Nwaneri injury update
“Unfortunately he has picked up an injury and he is going to be out for a couple of weeks,” Arteta said. “It’s a muscular injury.”
That means Nwaneri will also miss Arsenal’s FA Cup clash at home against Manchester United this weekend, plus very likely their Premier League home games against Tottenham on January 15 and Aston Villa on January 18.
With the Gunners already without Bukayo Saka and Raheem Sterling out wide, plus Kai Havertz struggling with illness, they’re looking light on numbers up top.
6+1 - Ethan Nwaneri (2 goals) became just the sixth player to score more than one Premier League goal before turning 18 years old after Wayne Rooney (7), Michael Owen (5), Danny Cadamarteri (3), James Milner (3) and Federico Macheda (2), and the first to do so for Arsenal.… pic.twitter.com/ecuruNKeeu
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 4, 2025
Just how good is Nwaneri?
Without putting too much pressure on Nwaneri it turns out Arsenal have a very capable deputy for Bukayo Saka. As long as Nwaneri returns soon, he will soften the blow of Arsenal losing Saka for the next few months.
The goal he scored at Brighton showed incredible composure in a big moment, and that is why Arsenal fans are serious when they say Nwaneri is the next big thing to come out of their academy.
Nwaneri has started each of Arsenal’s last two Premier League games, has had an impact whenever he’s come off the bench this season and Mikel Arteta has said time and time again he believes the teenager is a special talent.
Pro Soccer Talk spoke to Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori about Nwaneri after he scored at Brighton and he had this to say.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen somebody so young playing at this level,” Calafiori said. “But we don’t have to speak about him, to just leave him because he’s so young, he can still improve a lot and he’s a top guy as well. I wish nothing but the best for him.”
It’s still early days, but the signs are very promising for Ethan Nwaneri and Arsenal.
